1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, more particularly, to electronic devices including a semiconductor fin overlying an insulating layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lowering the resistivity of electrical pathways can improve the performance of electrical devices. One method for achieving this is to form a metal-semiconductor layer along conductive features of the pathway. Reacting a metal-containing layer with a portion of a semiconductor layer can form a metal-semiconductor layer. Examples of metal-semiconductor materials can include NiSi, WSi, TiSi, CoSi, ErSi, PtSi, NiSiPt or any combination thereof. Such a reaction can consume a portion of the semiconductor layer. While the process can lower the electrical resistivity of a subsequently formed electrical pathway, the consumption of semiconductor material can make the process difficult to use in manufacturing electrical device with small features. The consumption of semiconductor material can be particularly problematic when the small features are designed to have semiconductor properties.
The structure of the metal material in the metal-containing layer, the semiconductor material in the semiconductor layer, the metal-semiconductor material in the metal-semiconductor layer, or any combination thereof can each be different from the other. The structural difference can result in an interface between the resulting layers with a roughness average (“Ra”) value greater than 4 nm. The roughness of the interface can cause problems with the electronic device such as a spike shorting the source/drain region to the channel region.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the invention. The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.